How TTT Studios fosters the community from Vancouver to beyond

4 major reasons why TTT Studios consistently supports the community including UBC Local Hack Day

Published in

nwPlus

6 min readNov 30, 2018

For the second consecutive year, UBC Local Hack Day is powered by TTT Studios. Supporting the community is interwoven into TTT Studios’ identity and that includes hackathons of all sorts from VanHacks to UBC Local Hack Day (LHD). nwPlus sat down with Chris, President of TTT Studios, and Pauline, Marketing Manager, to talk about why supporting the community is so important to TTT Studios.

TTT Studios, what would we do without you?

We visited our title sponsor at their office complete with a Nintendo Switch, massage chair with a view, and buzzing minds already at 9 o’clock in the morning. Chris reiterated the value he sees in supporting UBC, Vancouver, and hackathons all at once through an event like UBC Local Hack Day.

“We want to be thought of as number 1, because we think of [UBC] as number 1.” — Chris Hobbs

Coincidentally with UBC Hacks joining the nwPlus family, Two Tall Totems has majorly rebranded to TTT Studios. Having been referred to as TTT for a while now, they revisited their brand to position themselves as thought leaders and a hub for digital projects.

Their mission “to build software that impacts a billion lives” has now expanded to encapsulate the full breadth of their capabilities to “empower business through technology.” They’re opening up space for growth.

TTT Studios started as Two Tall Totems 8 years ago and has evolved from simply mobile app development to everything else in the tech world including AI programs that even rival Apple’s facial recognition. TTT Studios realigned their brand to show their brilliant work as a digital innovation studio and to establish an accurate reflection of the company now and into the future.

Why UBC Local Hack Day — a beginner-friendly hackathon? 👩‍💻 👨‍💻

UBC’s Local Hack Day focuses on providing students with an opportunity to create passion projects and building an inclusive, diverse and accessible local tech community.

TTT Studios sees hackathons as a stepping stone for youth. By supporting these events, TTT Studios helps beginners with their code, introduces them to the industry, and gets more students involved in technology.

We favour learning over competition. 🔎 Encouraging an open mindset and lowering the stress level are two easy ways to make learning at hackathons more accessible. Chris explains why failure is not something to be scared of but should be embraced especially at hackathons.

“It’s better to fail than to actually create a product because [what] you’re trying to do is not to win the hackathon by the product. You’re actually trying to learn a new framework or a new language or do something you have never done before. That makes you that much better off because this event created the need for you to [learn] that and to have that inflection point of ‘hey, I’ve always wanted to do this. Let me do that.’ I think that’s wonderful.”
— Chris Hobbs

It also gives TTT Studios an excuse to hang out with UBC students on a tech-packed, fun-filled Saturday of hacking.

Why does TTT Studios invest in the community? ✨

In the eyes of TTT Studios, supporting events and organizations like nwPlus is not a business opportunity.

It’s an opportunity to connect with talent, build community, promote thought leadership, and boost their brand awareness.

Connecting with talent

To kick off their rebranding process, TTT Studios by exploring and defining the values that have always driven the company internally.

First and foremost is culture. “It has to be the right fit with the right mentality” and of course, skills. Pauline mentions passion as a key part of the company culture, one of their core values. Their strong relationship with UBC co-op programs and initiatives has brought UBC talent onto their team.

TTT Studios looks for people who strive for excellence, have passion in what they do, and integrity. Many of their team members are mentors, educators, and speakers both within and outside the company.

“There’s definitely a part of [educating] that’s coded into our DNA [at TTT Studios]” — Chris Hobbs

Building the community through hackathons

TTT Studios supports so much more than just UBC Local Hack Day because they see value in grassroots initiatives. They are involved with Vancouver Startup Week, StartUpsCare, VanHacks, and more.

They share our vision of fostering the spirit of learning in the tech community and how it’s better to fail than to not have tried at all. UBC Local Hack Day provides free swag, introductory workshops, and mini events in hopes of inspiring students to try something new. Chris mentioned that we still have steps to go in demystifying coding. “It’s an encouraging task and skill to be able to do what you want” especially with the freedom to find your own solutions. Demystifying coding also encourages students from other discplines to get involved.

“Any degree plus a computer science background is gold… it’s a one-two punch.” — Chris Hobbs

The connections that are made at hackathons are unique. Chris describes hackathons as inflection points for people interested in technology to meet people who are technologists and spark an even greater startup scene especially in Vancouver.

“Hackathons create the impetus for you to [learn].”
— Chris Hobbs

TTT Studios hosts their own internal hackathons to foster a “breeding ground for innovation.” Their projects identified known pain points and created solutions for them including an innovative addition to the project management process to an app to identify fruits because one team member just wasn’t sure what an avocado was.

Promoting thought leadership

“If we can share [our thought leadership], then everyone gets better.” — Chris Hobbs

Beyond how great it looks for SEO, TTT Studios is all about getting their team’s ideas and opinions out there and representing the company. This is particularly evident in their blog with the consistency of a well-oiled machine. It shows their dedication to sharing their experiences, stories, and team-oriented mindset throughout the industry.

Boosting brand awareness

It may be an intangible benefit but being out there matters. As TTT Studios increases their recognition from Vancouver to a national level, investing in the community is a long-term play to continue building it. Especially in the local setting, people definitely recognize TTT Studios as a brand.

“I’m always amazed at these events where people know who we are and it’s always nice to see that it’s paying off.” — Pauline Lee

What makes that feeling even better is when people approach their booths and people already know who they are. Another perk? Community events boost their internal creativity. TTT Studios makes custom stickers for events they’re involved in — here’s a sneak peak!

You know you want one.

LHD revolves around social good, inclusivity, and accessibility and we’re incredibly thankful to have TTT Studios as our title sponsor, community partner, and friend. 🎉

Thanks TTT Studios, we’re so excited to see you at UBC Local Hack Day!